The combination of swathes of flight cancellations in key Gulf transit hubs, the soaring price of jet fuel, and airlines such as Qantas subsequently cutting flights for cost-saving purposes have made major hubs like Singapore, Hong Kong and now Seoul look more promising.

 

Speaking to Incheon International Airport, they said the primary cause of the spike in passenger traffic was due to the “spillover effect” from operational restrictions at Middle Eastern airports.

 

“Due to operational restrictions on Middle Eastern airports and airlines, transit demand that previously flowed through the Middle East has shifted to Incheon Airport, which possesses strong network competitiveness,” a representative of the airport told the Korea JoongAng Daily.

 

“European routes have been strengthened, expanding Incheon’s transit competitiveness. We successfully attracted Virgin Atlantic as a new carrier and held accompanying media events.”

 

The representative also said expanded seat capacity on Incheon-China routes had increased connectivity, as well as rising demand for European and Northeast Asian transit options.

 

A source in the local airlines industry made the same points, saying customers were looking to Korea as an alternative to Gulf hubs.

 

“Incheon Airport is actively pursuing promotional and marketing activities to expand transit demand, leveraging its diverse route network and competitive strengths — efforts that preceded the conflict,” said a spokesperson.

 

Foreign visitors arrive at Incheon International Airport on March 19. [NEWS1]

 


Experts and airlines weigh in 

Andrew Charlton, the Managing Director of Aviation Advocacy, an air transport-focused strategic consultancy based in Switzerland, told the Korea JoongAng Daily he was not surprised to hear passenger traffic had gone up at Incheon.

 

“Seoul would always have [been] a great transit point for European flights, if it can go over Russian airspace. It should be able to offer better options than Singapore, for example because it is a fair way north — it cannot do that now.”

 

That’s because Russian Airspace is closed to Western allied carriers since the beginning of the Ukraine War, as part of sanctions placed against Russia. When carriers fly over a country they pay valuable overflight fees, which Russia now misses out on.

 

“But
,” Charlton went on, with the southern route through the Middle East disrupted, “it [certainly] puts Incheon back in the game.”

 

“With the Gulf carriers’ significant reduction in capacity in the market, travelers are looking for other options and, of course, Korean carriers are attractive in that context,” he says.

 

While Incheon passenger traffic has increased, that does not necessarily relate to increased revenue for airlines outside of Korea.

 

Due to aviation regulations dating back to 1944, airlines that aren’t the national carriers for the country of the transit hub, in this case, Incheon, cannot directly sell the tickets to the final destinations such as London; they have to be sold through Korean agencies.

 

That’s how Gulf airlines became so lucrative, managing arriving and departing flights. The only exemptions are derived from interairline deals that allow foreign sales, which are few and far between. This puts Korean carriers in a prime position to benefit from the increased passenger flow.

 

Incheon is looking to change this though, having launched the “interline initiative” where two or more different airlines enter into an agreement to sell connecting routes on a single ticket, which the airport said would “diversify the transit system.”

 

Delta Airlines has such an agreement, which they call a “strategic joint venture” with Korean Air.

 

A spokesperson for Delta Airlines
 said that Incheon Airport is Delta’s “most critical and competitive hub, acting as the primary gateway connecting the United States to the rest of the Asia-Pacific region.”

 

The spokesperson added that Delta has recently increased its Incheon-Atlanta route to a twice-daily service.

 

For now though, the 7 percent increase in travelers is primarily driven by the need for people to feel safe and the lack of alternatives, rather than an increase in flight frequencies to Korea.

 

Charlton says Incheon has the infrastructure to deal with becoming a major hub. “The airport itself is very advanced with capacity to spare, which again, makes it a good option for airlines that are operating hubbing operations.”

 

Incheon outcompetes rival airports such as Tokyo Narita when it comes its ability to reach international destinations. Narita currently has 86 global services to Incheon’s 158. 

 

 

BY FERGUS GOODALL SMITH [[email protected]]